Electric call apparatus



GAS. SHIVLER. ELECTRIC CALL APPARATUS.

4 Patented July 24, 1883.

N, PETERS. Photuullwgnphur. Wilslfillghm, 0.6.

UNiTEiDY STATES PATENT OFFICER CHARLES S. SHIVLER, OF BROOKLYN, NEXV YORK.

ELECTRIC CALL APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 281,931, dated July 24, 1883.

-Application filed May 16,1883. (No modem To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. SHIVLER, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Electric Call Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

' The object of this invention is to provide a simple means for ringing one or more bells at a distance from a central pointsuch as bells in the rooms of hotelseach of which may be rung separately from the office to wake up a guest at a given time; or all the bells in the rooms, or in the rooms in a section of the hotel, may be rung simultaneously in case of fire,

and a return-signal can be given to the office, indicating that the call is heard; and the cir' emit-connections can be changed to connect the room with the annunciator, thereby providing for the different calls, or communica tions to or from the respective rooms and office without interfering with other rooms or circuits. Y

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents one of my double contactsprings. Fig. 2 is a section of the main circuit-changing wheel, and Fig. 3 is a diagram of the circuit-connections and box containing the circuit-changers.

The disk or wheel a has upon it two sets of contactsprings, b and c. All the springs Z) are in metallic connection with each other, and all the springs c are in metallic connection with each other, but insulated from the springs b. This wheel a is provided with an axis anda lever-handle by which it may receive a partial rotation. The wheel is within a box, (I, and the handle outside. Upon the interior of the box, around the wheel a, there are two ranges of contact-blocks, e and One range corresponds to the'ends of the springs b, and the other with the springs c,- and these contact-blocks are placed so that when the wheel a is turned one way to a stop, the springs b are in contact with the range *6 of contact-blocks; and when a is turned the other way to a stop, the springs c are in contact with the range of blocks 6, and the springs b separated from i. There are to be as many springs and contact-blocks in each range I) i and c c as there are rooms or calls to be operated from the one box. I have shown six sets of springs and contacts in each range; but they may be more or less in number. I have shown the circuit-connections to two rooms. The other circuit-connections are duplicates of those shown. The double contact-springs are provided with two stationary insulated springs, 0 s, and an intermediate spring or arm, 0. There are to be as many of these as there are rooms or places to be included in the call apparatus; and the spring arm a" in its normal position remains in contact with 0,- but it may be moved byahandle, l, rock-shaft m, and lever n, acting upon said spring-arm r,- or any other suitable means may be used for moving r out of contact with o and into contact with 8.

Let R represent a sounder or call-bell at the 'oflice or central station, and P represent an annunciator or hotelcall of any desired char- 1 acter. B represents a battery. L represents the repeating call-bells in the rooms 2 and 3, j and Q represents a donble-acting push button- 1 or switch, with springs 10 and 11, normally in contact, but which are separated by pushing on the button, which operation also brings the spring 10 into contact with the spring 9. The negative pole of the battery is connected to the gas-pipe or ground, or to areturn-wire, 15, to which also the return-wires of the call-bells are connected, as shown in the diagram. There l is a positive wire, 16, passing from the battery fto the respective rooms, and having branch =wires to each plate 9 in the spring-switch, and

there are wires 12 and 13 passing to the re spective rooms 2 3, &c., therebeinga separate wire from the office to each room, and these fwires at the rooms connect with the springs 10. At the box d'the negative pole ().of the batftery is in metallic circuit with the range of springs b, andthe positive (l) with the range of springs c. The wire 12 connects with a in one group of the double contact springs, and the wire 13 connects with the similar spring r in Qthe next double contact spring, and so on, "there being as many groups of double contact springs as there are rooms orplaces to be communicated with. If the person at the room No. 2 depresses the knob of his springswitch, the circuit is closed from 16 through 9, spring 10, wire 12, springs r and 0, through the magnet of the annunciator, to give the ordinary call, and by the return-wire to the contactblock 13, and spring I), and wire 20, to the negative of the battery. A similar circuit for the current is provided for each room for giving the call through the ordinary annunciator, I. If, new, the person at the ollice wishes to wake up a guest or to call a servant in a particular room or place, or to send out a call to apoliceoffice, or to an engine-house or fire-station, there being a call-bell at the place designated-- such as at Land circuit-connections such as illustrated, he moves the spring or switch 9' out of contact with 0 and into contact with s, and a circuit is closed starting fronrbattery B by wire 21., through a spring-arm, 22, (from the same metallic ring as the springs 0,) and contaet-bloek 23, and by a wire, 24, through a sounder, R, and by wire 26 to s, and through and to the designated location, say, by the wire 12 to room No. 2, passing through 10 11 and the repeating alarm-bell L, and by wire 15 or earth-circuit to the negative of the battery, thereby ringing the alarm L, and the party at the office knows that the alarm is ringing because the sounder R responds. \Vhen the person at the room pushes his springswitch Q, the circuit is broken between 10 and 11., and the sounder It stops, and the person at the office knows the occupant of the room has been awakened, or that the call for police or fireman has been attended to. The wires 26 from all the springs s uniting at the wire to the sounder, the connections to any room or location are ready forgiving the necessary call or alarm by moving the spring or switch 9'.

In order to ring all the alarms L in the circiuit in case of fire, it is only necessary to turn the wheel a to bring the springs 0 into contact with the blocks 0, because there are branch wires from the respective wires 12 13, &c., to the successive contact-blocks e, and the current from battery 13 passes to the ring from which the springs c diverge, and the current divides, a portion going to each alarm L through 21 c e 12 (or 13, 8:0.) 10 11 L, and re turns through 15 or ground to B. In this change of circuits the annunciator P and the sounder It are thrown out of circuit. Care should be taken to provide sufli cient batterypower for all the alarms L, and they should have magnets all nearly the same resistance, in order that the branch currents can be sent to each call-bell. If desired, extra battery-power may be employed whenever required. \Vhen the wheel a is moved the other way, the circuitconnections through c are broken and those through '13 are .restored.

The wheel a is a convenient means for changing circuit for a large number of rooms, as the springs b 0 may extend out all around such wheel in two ranges, one outside the other.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, in an electric call apparatus, of call-bells and spring-switches at the respective rooms or distant places, and an annunciator and contact springs or switches o r s at the cent 'al station or oi'fiee, with the circuit-connections from the battery to the annunciator and through the switches 0 r s to the respective rooms, substantially as set forth, whereby the spring-switches at the rooms operate with the annunciator in the usual man ner, and the call-bells in the rooms or distant places can be rung by the switch 0, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, in an electric call apparatus, of the double contactsprings 0 r s at the ofiiee or central stationone set for each distant room or placeand eall-bells and push spring-switches in such rooms, circuit-conneetions, a battery, and a sounder in the circuit between the switch 0' s and the battery, whereby the distant call-bell can be rung by the switch 9', and the call answered by the springswitch Q, stopping the vibrations of the sound er, substantially as set forth.

3. In an electric call apparatus, a call-bell in each room or place where a signal is to be given, a battery, and circuit-connections, in combination with a wheel having spring-eont-acts and stationary blocks connected with the branch circuits to the respective rooms, and through which the battcry-circuit passes, substantially as set forth, whereby the call-bells at the respective rooms are placed in branch circuits by turning such wheel, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, in an electric call ap paratus, of call-bells and spring-switches in the respective rooms, an annunciator at the central station or oflice, double contacts 0 r s for the circuits to the annunciator and to each room, a sounder in the circuit through the contact 7' s, and a circuit-changing wheel and branch circuits to the respective rooms, sub stantially as set forth, whereby the annuncia tor may be used in the ordinary manner, a call may be made by ringing the bell in. either room, the call may be answered by the springswitch breaking the circuit'to the sounder, or the annunciator may be thrown out of circuit and the calls rung in all the rooms, substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this 12th day of May, A. D. 1883.

CHARLES S. STIIVLER.

\Vitnesses:

Oims. H. SMITH, J. HAIR. 

